Fresh Snow in the Alps, August 31

When we published the latest edition of our snow report on Monday, we could see it coming – fresh snow in the Alps. Now it’s here: and it looks as though it’s going to be heavier than expected. It’s also falling at lower elevations than we first thought – down to about 2000m in places.

Below is the Welove2ski Alpine snow forecast for today, August 31: and if you look at Saturday’s weather map there’s more to come tomorrow and – possibly – a bit more on Monday. More than half a metre could fall in a few isolated spots on the highest peaks and ridges.

Of course, this is not the start of winter. It may not even be the end of summer. As regular weather-watchers in the Alps will know, the climate in this nearly-martime range of mountains is flukey, and can turn on a dime. There was no clearer indication of that than last winter, which started warm, and snowless, across almost all of the Alps – and then at the beginning of December suddenly turned into Snowmaggedon.

Still, snow in August is not a bad sign. We remember skiers coming back from Saas-Fee in August 2007, and telling me they’d been skiing fresh powder on the glacier. That cool summer and autumn turned into a memorably snowy start to the ski season. So fingers crossed this cooling trend continues. Welove2ski will of course be keeping a close eye on conditions in its Snow Reports!

Here are a few more webcam pictures across the Alps. Can’t wait to see them when the skies have cleared. What better motivation could any skier need for a spot of ski fitness training?